The Words

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Absent of cheesy one liners, cgi explosions and presumably never ending car chases it was not surprising to see the lack of respect this movie has received. It is telling of our culture to pass by a story, full of such raw, human, emotion, with dis-contempt and frailty. 'The Words' is a movie about life, mistakes and the pain we can all feel inside, and it is this ability to relate that makes it so powerful. It gives me hope, along with a select other few, that cinematic story telling has not simply been reduced to the next ex-cia to shoot up the town, or romantic comedy with the same stale happily ever after ending. It is real, and comes with the all of the uncertainty and heartbreak of life.

I dare not tell the story as to spoil it. I too was in a packed theater but with 800 people in attendance. The story was well executed. Although some reviews were not good, I went and saw this movie anyways. This movie sold out as soon as it hit the Sundance Film Festival list. I was fortunate to secure a seating. All the Actors were fantastic! Olivia Wilde didn't get much of a part. I would of liked to see her character more developed. Bradley Cooper has been criticized for taking this part and they have said it was a poor choice on Bradleys part. I highly disagree. Movies are not meant to be highly MINDLESS! This movie takes an open heart to watch and love! It was easy to like the characters. Especially the UP AND COMING Ben Barnes! How do you play a character That well? without many words? I have followed this Brit's career and It will SOON explode on our American soil! I was very moved by Bens actions and reactions in the film. Ben's movements and actions as he fell in love and lost, and his reaction to another loss was phenomenal! He was VERY believable! Many were physically and emotionally moved by Ben Barnes's performance! For those who were fortunate to see Ben Barnes Performance in Sebastion Faulks Birdsong would agree that this guy will go far. And good luck to him as well as all who had small and large parts of this movie This movie has a "Princess Bride-ish" type format. In that the story reader goes back and forth. This movie made you think! It made you feel! And will make you feel for days to come!

The Words is a story within a story within a story. I absolutely loved the story within the story. A masterful telling of an intriguing situation with wonderful acting and believable emotions that, at both levels, tugged at my heart strings. However, the third level added very little, or should I say distracted from the rest. It was meant to put a twist on the story within the story, to make the viewer think and wonder, but it was mostly a distraction, and the acting was far inferior to the other two levels. The producers should have seen this but instead, they took something great and made it good. Another reviewer said somewhere that negative reviews were from people who "didn't get it". That's pretty conceited by them to think that they were the only ones who got it. Trust me, I got it, I just didn't like it. All that being said, it was still worth watching, if only for the two inner layers.

Monday we went to the movies. I had promised my wife I would take her to see "Hope Springs (2012)", a fun looking looking rom-com with Tommy Lee Jones & Meryl Streep. Unfortunately every time we had a moment something was up and when we finally had the time that movie was no longer playing. So to punish me, and because she wanted to see a movie, we went to see "The Words" If you should be in this situation, for Gods sake fake an injury. This movie was horrid. Its so bad only a preening pseudo-intellectual could possibly find it entertaining... no, not even them. I am a card-carrying member of the 'Preening Pseudo-Intellectual International Union' (Local 'Snooty I'm So Damn Smart' 306). This is your River Song moment – from here on there are Spoilers. It's basically three storyline's in one movie. You have the story of the young WWII veteran and his life, love, and lose in post-war France; the young struggling writer angsting his way to obscurity; and the vainglorious older writer engaging in an uncomfortably age-inappropriate sexually charged conversation with a young woman. The story of the young veteran and his interactions as an old man with the young author is good. Jeremy Irons is an excellent actor (His portrayal of Pope Alexander VI in "The Borgia's" is Faboo! Not to mention he was the voice of Scar in the Lion King). While he is on the screen, or when the story of his youth and loss is up – its solid cinema. The story of the young author, portrayed by Bradley Cooper, is at best Meh! Hes a angsty writer who falls into plagiarism and then revels in the celebrity; and his wife is little better, pushing him and then getting mad at him when he comes clean about it to her. The best part of this is his agent, who rightfully tells him to shut the f#ck up and help the old man out financially (the right thing to do), but not to commit career suicide. The last, and certainly least, part features Dennis Quaid & Olivia Wilde – both of whom phoned in their performances, had no real chemistry between them, and made the thirty-year difference in their ages seem much larger. This was the preening, "I'm so deep" part of the movie that not only could have been left out without harming the movie but would have actually IMPROVED it had it been totally cut. And, just to be clear, it was not the fault of the actors involved – they were okay, if telepresenced in – the story and implications were... well preening pseudo-intellectualism at it pinnacle. Is he the the younger author now older, respected, rich, and separated from his wife of many years who can no longer bear to live with a fraud? Is the young girl trying to steal a story from him to become him? Are they going to have sex or just dance around each other? Is she a substitute for his estranged wife, and he for her daddy? Did he write the story or live it? Can I slit my wrist to escape, or will the EMT's revive me and make me finish before hauling my arse off to the loonies bin (and I have worked in mental health facility, so I actually know a bit about it). So there we have it, my first review to be posted at IMDb. Now imagine what I will say when I really hate a movie! I am kind of looking forward to that, kind of dreading it. Either way, what fun!

The Words opens with author Clay Hammond (Denis Quaid) giving a reading for his recent best-selling book, The Words. Hammond's reading takes us into the life of his character, Rory Jansen (Bradley Cooper), a young author struggling to publish his books make ends meet. One night, Jansen discovers an old manuscript hidden in an antique briefcase that his wife Dora (Zoe Saldana) purchased for him on their honeymoon in Paris. He reads the yellowed first-draft of the novel, marveling at the unknown author's talent. Jansen struggles with what he should do with the masterpiece he's found. Eventually, he decides to type the entire novel on his laptop so he can "feel the words flow" through his own fingers. When his wife sees the novel on his computer, she—in typical Hollywood fashion—assumes he wrote it and praises him for his depth and creativity before he has a chance to tell her the truth. From here, the film skips back and forth between the fictional Rory and Dora Jansen, and the story of their creator, Clay Hammond. Rory publishes the manuscript under his own name and struggles with the repercussions, while in "real life," Hammond flirts with a young college student named Daniella (Olivia Wilde) at his sophisticated book reading. Despite the film's fluctuating story lines, The Words' plot is addictively intriguing and surprisingly easy to follow. My family doesn't often sit down to watch a movie without a magazine or iPad in hand, but this movie kept us all riveted. It's also worth noting that we had our eyes glued to the screen in the absence of explosions, sex scenes, or significant amounts of humor. The film's mysterious and captivating plot line—along with simple but genuine characters—were enough to hold our attention. The story expands when the true author of Jansen's novel (Jeremy Irons, the "Old Man") approaches Jansen and reveals his heart-wrenching account of the loss of his manuscript and family. His tale transports us to Paris during World War II, adding another captivating plot line to the already multi-layered story. In addition to an elevated storyline, the Old Man's account in the movie adds a deeper visual element to the film. A relatively low-budget, low-key film, The Words clearly made the most of its production site in Montreal, Canada. Shots of present-day New York and 1940s Paris are both believable and idealistic, effortlessly transporting viewers from modern day to war time. As Bradley Cooper's character becomes a liar of extraordinary proportions, I still found myself rooting for him throughout the film. Jansen's shortcomings raise many stimulating questions about truth and integrity, while his struggle for achievement and creativity makes him highly relatable (especially as a writer). While the movie held my interest the majority of the time, I felt much less invested in the real-life storyline of author Clay Hammond's and student Daniella. The only thing that kept me interested in the seedy, wealthy author and his adoring fan was the question of how they tied in to Rory Jansen's story. And that is, perhaps, the great mystery of the film—why does Rory Jansen matter to Clay Hammond, and vice versa? The pursuit of an answer to this question, along with stimulating questions of integrity and consequence are what make The Words a must-see movie for anyone who desires meaningful conversation at the end of a film. It makes us question our motives and beliefs, and it gives a sympathetic face to the "struggling artist" stigma. Considering I'd never heard of the movie until I rented it, I'd say it's highly underrated.

I was just part of a packed house to watch the premiere of this film at Sundance 2012. They started work-shopping this project at Sundance 12 years ago. It was a lovely film and I give it a ten for the story, casting,and how intriguing and enjoyable it was to watch. These were excellent roles for Dennis Quaid, Bradley Cooper, and Jeremy Irons. (The first two were there tonight - I'm sorry Irons couldn't be there, as well.) I'll let others give a more detailed review. I wanted to quickly post that this movie will be well worth seeing when it comes out in theaters. Congratulations to the writers-directors for sticking with the project and seeing it to it's beautiful fruition.

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